By Juliet Kadzviti

Christopher Lake community raising funds to improve sportsplex

Jul 3, 2016 | 8:36 AM

A group of fundraisers are going out of their way to save a community staple.

The Lakeland Curling Club, Lakeland and District Recreation Association and the Renew the Plex Fundraising Committee are looking to raise almost $400,000 to renew the 30-year-old Lakeland Sportsplex.

The campaign has been aptly named ‘renew the plex’ and kicked off on Saturday July 2, with a pancake breakfast at the venue in Christopher Lake.

The support of the community has been overwhelming but there is still a long way to go according to Howard Gange committee co-chair.

“The curling club members have already donated $75,000 to $100,000 over mostly three years, we are looking to raise the rest through more fundraising,” he said.

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Gange said the upgrade will allow for the facility to have additional uses and benefit the people who use it most- seniors.

“It’s a big part of the community, any Tuesday or Thursday you’ll find the curlers in here, and you’ll find 25 to 30 seniors in here who come in to watch,” he said, adding, “The more things that seniors can do, the more active they can be, the better off they are all going to be.”  

Al Christensen, co-chair of the committee, said he is satisfied with the progress they have made until now and was appreciative of the support the community has given for the project.

“It has been, very, very promising, the donations that have just come in so far, we’ve just started the fundraising primarily with the curling community and the results have been just fabulous, he said.

A big part of the project is to replace the aging cooling pipes and install a cement floor on the curling area, making it a multi-purpose area.

The upper lounge and kitchen area of the building will also see upgrades to things such as lighting, and appliances.

Work on phase one of the project has begun, which is the removal of the old cooling system. Pipes and cement will be laid down in the last week of July.

Curling season starts on October 1. Gange said he hopes the improvements will be done by then.

jkadzviti@panow.com

On Twitter: @julietkadzviti